[GJM] The Kucinich Plan for Iraq

[marguerite hampton]

 Thanks to Sergio Lub for this message.  

  While I agree that the troops should be brought home, they will be
arriving to a state of chaos  
as the U.S. economy collapses.  And, few jobs will be available for these
people.  
Please read next message on projected collapse of housing bubble and its
effects on the economy as 10 to 40 million persons lose their homes as
mortgage rates escalate.  The ripple-out effect of this collapse will effect
millions of other businesses and jobs will fade into oblivion.  

  We really need to "think outside of the box" and begin building from the
ground up with small experimental "building blocks" that can be yanked with
no dire consequences if they prove not to be working. Thus we can avoid
major disasters while creating a solid foundation beneath our feet upon
which to move into the future. IMHO.  

marguerite     


-------Original Message-------
 
From: sergio at sergiolub.com
Date: 01/08/07 20:21:15
To: ecopilgrim at aabol.com
Subject: The Kucinich Plan for Iraq
 
To: Marguerite Hampton
From: Sergio Lub
 
One of the most courageous and creative participants I met through our
network is United States Congressman Dennis Kucinich.
 
Dennis just made public a clear proposal of how we should end the Iraq
nightmare, please find it below.  I urge you to take the time to study it,
and hopefully, to support it.
 
I personally feel that implementing this plan will be the most sincere
message of peace we can collectively bring to the world in this New Year.
 
*
 
Dear Friends,
 
In November of 2006, after an October upsurge in violence in Iraq,
the American people moved decisively to reject Republican rule,
principally because of the conduct of the war. Democratic leaders
well understand we regained control of the Congress because of the
situation in Iraq. However, two months later, the Congress is still
searching for a plan around which it can unite to hasten the end of
US involvement in Iraq and the return home of 140,000 US troops.
 
There is a compelling need for a new direction in Iraq, one that
recognizes the plight of the people of Iraq, the false and illegal
basis of the United States war against Iraq, the realities on the
ground which make a military resolution of the conflict unrealistic
and the urgent responsibility of the United States, which caused the
chaos, to use the process of diplomacy and international law to
achieve stability in Iraq, a process which will establish peace and
stability in Iraq allow our troops to return home with dignity.
 
The Administration is preparing to escalate the conflict. They intend
to increase troop numbers to unprecedented levels, without
establishing an ending date for the so-called troop surge. By
definition, this escalation means a continuation of the occupation,
more troop and civilian casualties, more anger toward the US, more
support for the insurgency, more instability in Iraq and in the
region, and prolonged civil war at a time when there is a general
agreement in the world community that the solution in Iraq must be
political not military. Iraq is now a training ground for insurgents
who practice against our troops.
 
What is needed is a comprehensive political process. And the decision
is not President Bush's alone to make.
 
Congress, as a coequal branch of government has a responsibility to
assist in the initiation of this process. Congress, under Article 1,
Section 8 of the US Constitution has the war-making power. Congress
appropriates funds for the war. Congress does not dispense with its
obligation to the American people simply by opposing a troop surge in
Iraq.
 
There are 140,000 troops remaining in Iraq right now. What about
them? When will they come home? Why would we leave those troops in
Iraq when we have the money to bring them home? Soon the President
will ask for more money for the war. Why would Congress appropriate
more money to keep the troops in Iraq through the end of President
Bush's term, at a total cost of upwards of two trillion dollars and
thousands of more troop casualties, when military experts say there
is no military solution? Our soldiers stand for us in the field, we
must to stand for them in our legislature by bringing them home.
 
It is simply not credible to maintain that one opposes the war and
yet continues to fund it. This contradiction runs as a deep fault
line through our politics, undermining public trust in the political
process and in those elected to represent the people. If you oppose
the war, then do not vote to fund it.
 
If you have money which can be used to bring the troops home or to
prosecute the war, do not say you want to bring the troops home while
you appropriate money in a supplemental to keep them in Iraq fighting
a war that cannot be won militarily. This is why the Administration
should be notified now that Congress will not approve of the
appropriations request of up to $160 billion in the spring for the
purposes of continuing the occupation and the war. Continuing to fund
the war is not a plan. It would represent the continuation of
disaster.
 
The US sent our troops into Iraq without a clear mission. We created
a financial, military and moral dilemma for our nation and now we are
talking about the Iraq war as our problem. The Iraqis are forgotten.
Their country has been destroyed: 650,000 casualties, [based on the
Lancet Report which surveyed casualties from March of 2003 to July of
2006] the shredding of the social fabric of the nation, civil war,
lack of access to food, shelter, electricity, clean drinking water
and health care because this Administration, with the active
participation of the Congress, authorized a war without reason,
without conscience, without international law.
 
The US thinks in terms of solving our own military, strategic,
logistical, and political problems. The US can determine how to solve
our problems, but the Iraqi people will have problems far into the
future. This requires an intensive focus on the processes needed to
stabilize Iraq. If you solve the Iraqi problem you solve the US
problem. Any comprehensive plan for Iraq must take into account as a
primary matter the conditions and the needs of the Iraqi people,
while providing our nation with a means of righting grievous wrongs
and taking steps to regain US credibility and felicity within the
world community.
 
I am offering such a plan today. This plan responds to the concerns
of a majority of Americans. On Tuesday, when Congress resumes its
work, I will present this plan to leadership and members as the only
viable alternative to the Bush Administration's policy of continued
occupation and escalation. Congress must know that it cannot and must
not stand by and watch our troops and innocent Iraqi civilians die.
 
These are the elements of the Kucinich Plan:
 
1. The US announces it will end the occupation, close military bases
and withdraw. The insurgency has been fueled by the occupation and
the prospect of a long-term presence as indicated by the building of
permanent bases. A US declaration of an intention to withdraw troops
and close bases will help dampen the insurgency which has been
inspired to resist colonization and fight invaders and those who have
supported US policy. Furthermore this will provide an opening where
parties within Iraq and in the region can set the stage for
negotiations towards peaceful settlement.
 
2. US announces that it will use existing funds to bring the troops
and necessary equipment home. Congress appropriated $70 billion in
bridge funds on October 1st for the war. Money from this and other
DOD accounts can be used to fund the troops in the field over the
next few months, and to pay for the cost of the return of the troops,
(which has been estimated at between $5 and $7 billion dollars) while
a political settlement is being negotiated and preparations are made
for a transition to an international security and peacekeeping force.
 
3. Order a simultaneous return of all US contractors to the United
States and turn over all contracting work to the Iraqi government.
The contracting process has been rife with world-class corruption,
with contractors stealing from the US Government and cheating the
Iraqi people, taking large contracts and giving 5% or so to Iraqi
subcontractors.
 
Reconstruction activities must be reorganized and closely monitored
in Iraq by the Iraqi government, with the assistance of the
international community. The massive corruption as it relates to US
contractors, should be investigated by congressional committees and
federal grand juries. The lack of tangible benefits, the lack of
accountability for billions of dollars, while millions of Iraqis do
not have a means of financial support, nor substantive employment,
cries out for justice.
 
It is noteworthy that after the first Gulf War, Iraqis reestablished
electricity within three months, despite sanctions. Four years into
the US occupation there is no water, nor reliable electricity in
Baghdad, despite massive funding from the US and from the Madrid
conference. The greatest mystery involves the activities of private
security companies who function as mercenaries. Reports of false flag
operations must be investigated by an international tribunal.
 
4. Convene a regional conference for the purpose of developing a
security and stabilization force for Iraq. The focus should be on a
process which solves the problems of Iraq. The US has told the
international community, "This is our policy and we want you to come
and help us implement it." The international community may have an
interest in helping Iraq, but has no interest in participating in the
implementation of failed US policy.
 
A shift in US policy away from unilateralism and toward cooperation
will provide new opportunities for exploring common concerns about
the plight of Iraq. The UN is the appropriate place to convene,
through the office of the Secretary General, all countries that have
interests, concerns and influence, including the five permanent
members of the Security Council and the European community, and all
Arab nations.
 
The end of the US occupation and the closing of military bases are
necessary preconditions for such a conference. When the US creates a
shift of policy and announces it will focus on the concerns of the
people of Iraq, it will provide a powerful incentive for nations to
participate.
 
It is well known that while some nations may see the instability in
Iraq as an opportunity, there is also an even-present danger that the
civil war in Iraq threatens the stability of nations throughout the
region. The impending end of the occupation will provide a
breakthrough for the cooperation between the US and the UN and the UN
and countries of the region. The regional conference must include
Iran, Syria, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan.
 
5. Prepare an international security and peacekeeping force to move
in, replacing US troops who then return home. The UN has an
indispensable role to play here, but cannot do it as long as the US
is committed to an occupation. The UN is the only international
organization with the ability to mobilize and the legitimacy to
authorize troops.
 
The UN is the place to develop the process, to build the political
consensus, to craft a political agreement, to prepare the ground for
the peacekeeping mission, to implement the basis of an agreement that
will end the occupation and begin the transition to international
peacekeepers. This process will take at least three months from the
time the US announces the intention to end the occupation.
 
The US will necessarily have to fund a peacekeeping mission, which,
by definition will not require as many troops. Fifty percent of the
peacekeeping troops must come from nations with large Muslim
populations. The international security force, under UN direction,
will remain in place until the Iraqi government is capable of
handling its own security. The UN can field an international security
and peacekeeping mission, but such an initiative will not take shape
unless there is a peace to keep, and that will be dependent upon a
political process which reaches agreement between all the Iraqi
parties. Such an agreement means fewer troops will be needed.
 
According to UN sources, the UN the peacekeeping mission in the
Congo, which is four times larger in area than Iraq, required about
twenty thousand troops. Finally the UN does not mobilize quickly
because they depend upon governments to supply the troops, and
governments are slow. The ambition of the UN is to deploy in less
than ninety days. However, without an agreement of parties the UN is
not likely to approve a mission to Iraq, because countries will not
give them troops.
 
6. Develop and fund a process of national reconciliation. The process
of reconciliation must begin with a national conference, organized
with the assistance of the UN and with the participation of parties
who can create, participate in and affect the process of
reconciliation, defined as an airing of all grievances and the
creation of pathways toward open, transparent talks producing truth
and resolution of grievances. The Iraqi government has indicated a
desire for the process of reconciliation to take place around it, and
that those who were opposed to the government should give up and join
the government. Reconciliation must not be confused with
capitulation, nor with realignments for the purposes of protecting
power relationships.
 
For example, Kurds need to be assured that their own autonomy will be
regarded and therefore obviate the need for the Kurds to align with
religious Shia for the purposes of self-protection. The problem in
Iraq is that every community is living in fear. The Shia, who are the
majority fear they will not be allowed to government even though they
are a majority. The Kurds are afraid they will lose the autonomy they
have gained. The Sunnis think they will continue to be made to pay
for the sins of Saddam.
 
A reconciliation process which brings people together is the only way
to overcome their fears and reconcile their differences. It is
essential to create a minimum of understanding and mutual confidence
between the Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds.
 
But how can a reconciliation process be constructed in Iraq when
there is such mistrust: Ethnic cleansing is rampant. The police get
their money from the US and their ideas from Tehran. They function as
religious militia, fighting for supremacy, while the Interior
Ministry collaborates. Two or three million people have been
displaced. When someone loses a family member, a loved one, a friend,
the first response is likely to be that there is no reconciliation.
 
It is also difficult to move toward reconciliation when one or
several parties engaged in the conflict think they can win outright.
The Shia, some of whom are out for revenge, think they can win
because they have the defacto support of the US. The end of the US
occupation will enhance the opportunity for the Shia to come to an
accommodation with the Sunnis. They have the oil, the weapons, and
support from Iran. They have little interest in reconciling with
those who are seen as Baathists.
 
The Sunnis think they have experience, as the former army of Saddam,
boasting half a million people insurgents. The Sunnis have so much
more experience and motivation that as soon as the Americans leave
they believe they can defeat the Shia government. Any Sunni revenge
impulses can be held in check by international peacekeepers. The only
sure path toward reconciliation is through the political process. All
factions and all insurgents not with al Queda must be brought
together in a relentless process which involves Saudis, Turks and
Iranians.
 
7. Reconstruction and Jobs. Restart the failed reconstruction program
in Iraq. Rebuild roads, bridges, schools, hospitals, and other public
facilities, houses, and factories with jobs and job training going to
local Iraqis.
 
8. Reparations. The US and Great Britain have a high moral obligation
to enable a peace process by beginning a program of significant
reparations to the people of Iraq for the loss of lives, physical and
emotional injuries, and damage to property. There should be special
programs to rescue the tens of thousands of Iraqi orphans from lives
of destitution. This is essential to enable reconciliation.
 
9. Political Sovereignty. Put an end to suspicions that the US
invasion and occupation was influenced by a desire to gain control of
Iraq's oil assets by A) setting aside initiatives to privatize Iraqi
oil interests or other national assets, and B) by abandoning efforts
to change Iraqi national law to facilitate privatization.
 
Any attempt to sell Iraqi oil assets during the US occupation will be
a significant stumbling block to peaceful resolution. The current
Iraqi constitution gives oil proceeds to the regions and the central
government gets nothing. There must be fairness in the distribution
of oil resources in Iraq. An Iraqi National Oil Trust should be
established to guarantee the oil assets will be used to create a
fully functioning infrastructure with financial mechanisms
established protect the oil wealth for the use of the people of Iraq.
 
10. Iraq Economy. Set forth a plan to stabilize Iraq's cost for food
and energy, on par to what the prices were before the US invasion and
occupation. This would block efforts underway to raise the price of
food and energy at a time when most Iraqis do not have the means to
meet their own needs.
 
11. Economic Sovereignty. Work with the world community to restore
Iraq's fiscal integrity without structural readjustment measures of
the IMF or the World Bank.
 
12. International Truth and Reconciliation. Establish a policy of
truth and reconciliation between the people of the United States and
the people of Iraq. In 2002, I led the effort in the House of
Representatives challenging the Bush Administration's plans to go to
war in Iraq. I organized 125 Democrats to vote against the Iraq war
resolution. The analysis I offered at that time stands out in bold
relief for its foresight when compared to the assessments of many who
today aspire to national leadership. Just as the caution I urged four
years ago was well-placed, so the plan I am presenting today is
workable, and it responds to the will of the American people,
expressed this past November. This is a moment for clarity and
foresight. This is a moment to take a new direction in Iraq. One with
honor and dignity. One which protects our troops and rescues Iraqi
civilians. One which repairs our relationship with Iraqis and with
the world.
 
Thank you,
 
Dennis J Kucinich
 
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